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New in #76: What's in my Mailbox

ponedeljek, december 10, 2018

*ESSENCE Colour Boost Mad About Matte Liquid Lipstick

05 Dangerously Yours

Unexpectedly I really love this. When these launched I didn't devote them a second of attention because I thought it's going to be some lame not-really-matte formula like L'Oreal's Lip Paint Mattes, but this is properly matte in a minute or two, it applies fully opaque and the colour is gorgeous. It's the shade I wanted Maybelline's Lover to be, as it's a similar mauve shade, but much pinker and warmer. It's on my lips in the picture with the Essence highlighter.

This is a crazy pigmented palette and there are not many eyeshadows I've tried that would have such an intense colour pay-off so quickly. Formula is very soft and when I pushed a bit too hard with a brush when I was swatching it, the brush just sank in - luckily I could fix it because these are so creamy. You get a combination of metallics and mattes, both have great formulas. Metallics are very creamy and especially the copper shade has a dreamy metallic fully opaque formula. The mattes are some of the best I've tried and less creamy than metallic, so the brush picks them up better. The only slightly disappointing shade in the palette is the white highlighter which unlike other metallic shades in the palette doesn't feel smooth and has some big shimmer in it, so it doesn't look as pretty on the face. The other gold one is better, but too dark for me. If you're a fan of metallic eyeshadows this is an excellent palette, I just wish the colour selection was a bit more up to my taste, though I love that olive shade and neutral matte colours, so I can use this palette for my usual neutral eye.

Click2chic, 24.49 €

*L.O.V. The Rose X Copper Eyeshadow Palette

Contains 12 glittery and satins eyeshadows

L.O.V. also released a reddish-warm palette - I feel like I'm seeing these everywhere. Pigmentation is good at most shades and especially the red metallic shade Ambitious is super soft and crazy pigmented like a cream eyeshadow (similar to Milani's, but thicker, less smooth compared to those). I'd like it, if the shade range were more to my taste, but I'm not a fan of these modern rosey-red palettes and what I really miss at this palette are matte shades. It just doesn't have a selection of crease appropriate colours, as everything is either a satin finish or metallic. The palette is quite heavy and has a magnetic closing system.

This is my least favourite palette out of the four I got. For one the colour selection is disappointing, as the whole first row looks the same on the eyes. All are a neutral blending out/base colours and who needs four such shades? The second row is a mixed quality, the first two are a lovely matte and satin shades with good pigmentation and they blend nicely, the next two orange ones are disappointing. The first orange is not the best, though useful, but the last shade is sheer and I just can't pick it up, plus it's chunky. The same goes for the first shade in the bottom row - only sparse chunky shimmer. The last three are great matte shade that are pigmented and blend well. Overall it's just too disappointing, though matte shades are good. I give it a 2.5/5.

13.49 €

*ESSENCE Ho! Ho! Ho! LE Iridescent Powder Highlighter

01 Twinkle Twinkle

I'm not thrilled about this either and Essence has done so much better. It's similar to Stay Cool Llama highlighter in terms of formula and level of glow. Formula feels softer than llama, but it's not like some other buttery highlighters. It's very subtle, unless I really layer it and the shade has a pinky glow, so it's better for cool skin tones.

A very soft, synthetic brush that isn't the best when it comes to picking up a lot of product, so it's better for very pigmented blushes and highlighters. It's a bit big for highlighters as far as I'm concerned, but for blush and maybe even contour it's nice.The handle has a fun glitter and candy cane in water design

This is duochrome shade with colour changing from navy blue to purple. I can't praise this formula because it's too sheer and too liquid so the pigment shifts and the applicator is a stiff stick that isn't comfortable. I can't draw a line with this, instead I need to dab the colour along the lash line. The colour is an off black on me with blue shimmer and it's just not as striking as in the tube. Staying power isn't impressive either as the wing wiped off and that doesn't happen at their regular liquid eyeliner. Catrice has done so much better (colour) liners before.

This is a metallic matte shade, which it's one of my least favourite finishes (I do not like metallics for the lips. Mattes are not supposed to be matte). It dries matte on the lips in a couple of minutes and this is a type of shade you need to take a lot of time to apply nicely, but luckily it layers with no problems. Shade Luster is a purple burgundy with cool purple shimmer which does give it a nice metallic effect, however, that shimmer ends up everywhere at the end of the day (surprisingly the colour stays put). The combination of a dark shade, glitter and matte finish makes is a nightmare to remove, so make sure you have an oil remover handy.

4.79 €

*REVOLUTION PRO Supreme Eyeshadow Palette

Allure

I've tried quite a few (Makeup) Revolution palettes and they don't excite me as much as apparently most, but I will admit this has some great quality eyeshadows. There are 8 shades in a rather inelegant looking palette, 5 are matte and 3 are shimmers. It's a mixed quality palette (something Revolution has yet to improve), but 4 mattes are excellent quality, super soft, pigmented and they blend really nicely. They somewhat remind me of Milani's matte shade in Gilded palette, but they are more loose, very crumbly and less buttery-creamy. The only disappointing matte is the purple-mauve one because it's quite sheer . Two shimmers are also excellent quality, very creamy, have a strong metallic finish and great pigmentation, again they remind me of poor man's Milani metallics, but the lilac shade is not quite as good, though it's still a useful duochrome shimmer on a lilac base. Shades are a matte buttercream, matte medium brown (it's meant to be the cool shade in the palette, but it's warm on me), a metallic beige-bronze (excellent quality), a reddish brown with green shimmer (somewhere in the ballpark of Mac's Club), a matte violet-mauve, a duchrome lilac (looks good applied over black, as it makes it a navy with star-like shimmer), a matte deep warm brown and a matte black which is not the best black. Four versions of these types of palettes exist.

Ličila.si, 8.99 €

*REVOLUTION PRO 4K Highlighter Palette

Rose Gold

As much as I'm not a fan of MR eyeshadows, I've been impressed with their highlighters before and this palette is another useful one for me. They name it rose gold, but only one shade is actually in that colour. Shades include a very intense pearly white (by far the strongest shade), a beige-gold (best normal level of glow), a rose gold with a pink, slightly purplish reflect (weakest) and a light copper (too dark for me). Pigmentation differs a lot, but it's good across the board, with the white one being incredibly intense, maybe even too much and the rest, though less strong, also create a nice glow. While formula feel soft, almost creamy, they aren't very fine and appear chalky in a thick swatch. Shimmer is mostly fine, but there are some medium sized chunks and those can land everywhere. It's not my favourite set of highlighters, but I like the nice shade range that (mostly) works on pale skin.

Ličila.si, 11.99 €

*REVOLUTION PRO Pore Primer

This scared me the first time I opened it because all that was coming out was that oily liquid and I was afraid it got separated, but luckily it was just a small part of the product. The texture is a simple standard mattifying primer that feels very silicone-y and coats the skin in a velvet layer that is nicely matte. It's tinted, but it doesn't have coverage and while it creates a smooth base for a foundation, I didn't notice that big of a change on pores. For example L'Oreal's Infallible matte foundation is far more effective at hiding pores and was an already discontinued Essence mousse concealer. However, if you're just looking for a mattifying, silicone-feeling primer, it's more than adequate.

Ličila.si, 9.99 €

*REVOLUTION PRO Pro Supreme Matte Lip Pigment

Visionary

This is the thickest matte lip cream I've tried and most like a mousse. Texture is similar to Rimmel's Stay Satin, but even thicker. It applies fully opaque and it has a satin finish from the start. It takes 10-15 minutes for it to set to a proper matte finish. I don't find it drying, but it could be too much for some. It's most similar to Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvets, so if you can handle those, these will be fine as well. Visionary is a nude beige shade that on my skin tone leans toward peach, but I think the darker and warmer your skin tone is, the more pinky nude it will look.

Ličila.si, 6.99 €

*REVLON Super Lustrous Lipstick

Lady Boss, Fire & Ice and Black Cherry

These are a special edition of lipsticks that are a part of Revlon's Live Boldly collection which celebrates bold, independent and strong women. Two of the shades, Fire & Ice and Black Cherry are Revlon's classics that are a part of the permanent range, while Lady Boss is a new shade I believe. I don't think these will be sold here, but they are available in other countries and anyway some colours are not new. These are Revlon's classic lipstick with a comfortable, fully opaque formula. Fire & Ice is Revlon's iconic shade, one of their oldest and it's a warm red, Black Cherry is a deep burgundy and Lady Boss is a bright electric pink.

Click2Chic has a released a new beauty box as they usually do in December. I write this in English because you can also get it in Croatia. It's 18.90 € and you get a pretty great deal looking at the total worth of the products. There are four full-sizes plus a mini bag and a sample size of a Moroccanoil product. Review in Slovene with swatches is here.

*WET N WILD Megaglo Highlighting Powder

Blossom Glow

Precious Petals is the shade that started the hype of these. I was tempted by it too until I heard it's quite dark. Blossom Glow on the other hand, is perfect for very pale skin tones. It's an off-white pinky-peachy shade with a good level of glow. First application was quite a disappointment however, as my densest brush couldn't pick up much colour and it was only after I swatched it with a finger for pictures that the bottom softer, a lot more glowy layer was revealed.

Click2Chic, 5.99 €

*REVLON Super Lustrous Lipstick

Revlon Red

This was actually my first red lipstick many years ago and now we are reunited. I wanted their famous Fire & Ice, but back in the day I think this was the red we had here (it was so long ago and I sent someone else to get it for me). It was never my favourite shade of red, but that's because I prefer those with cool undertones, while this ends up considerably warmer on me than it looks in the tube. On darker, warmer skin tones it might look more neutral or neutral-warm. It's got a classic/old-school creamy formula that is comfortable on the lips.
Clikc2Chic, 9.98 €

*REVLON Nail Enamel

Revlon Red

Another classic red shade, though it looks more cool-neutral on my nails than the lipstick, so they don't completely match. Red nail polishes tend to all be great in terms of quality and I zero complaints about this one. It's opaque in one coat, but I always apply two just because I'm used to it and a thicker layer lasts longer on the nails. The brush is one of the thinnest and I actually like this because I have narrow nails and it's better for a more precise application.
Click2Chic, 6.98 €

*MOROCCANOIL Color Complete Protect & Prevent Spray

Moroccanoil launched a complete system of hair care designed for coloured hair and this spray is meant as a last step in the Color Complete regimen. It's applied on damp hair and it promises to help keep the colour from fading or becoming brassy. It has UV and thermal protection too. Spray is light, so appropriate for all hair types, I really don't think it would weigh down even the thinnest hair. It smells amazing like all Moroccanoil products and doesn't interfere with other hair care or styling products.

My second bottle of this one. It's one of the lightest ones, so more appropriate for those with thin hair than my thick type (I need to use a lot on my hair), but in combination with the mask from the same line and applied on damp hair before blow-drying it mages to tames it quite successfully plus as well as a nice level of shine. It of course also tames the hair and adds shine when used on dry hair, plus it smells like creamy coconut.
Click2Chic, 9.49 €

*ORIFLAME Possess the Secret

This is flanker of the original Possess and it's described as an oriental floral, but I don't get the oriental part, at least not in that traditional vanilla-amber-spicy/patchouli sense. It starts with very uplifting citrus and apple, so very fresh notes. After about a half an hour it settles into a floral (osmanthus-sunflower-orchid-jasmine mix) on a sandalwood base (no vanilla on me, despite being among the notes). Though it seems quite a tame fragrance from the start, it become quite a silage monster and I could smell one spray on another person for hours from 1-2m away. It's also one of the most long-lasting fragrances I own and it lasts much longer than my other Oriflame fragrance Miss Giordani Intense.

Notes

Top: bergamot, jasmine, black currant

Heart: Osmanthus, apple and orchid

Base: sandalwood, vanilla and sunflower

Oriflame, regular price 37.90 €

*LABELLO Crayon Lipstick

Black Cherry

Labello came out with a new version of their tinted lip balm formulas, this time they released them in a crayon from. These come in three shades a coral, red and cherry. I haven't opened it yet, as it was a crazy month for PR products, but if I do, I'll let you know how I like it.

I'm not a big fan of very warm shades on my eyes, so I really hope Milani makes a cool palette with this formula, as I'm really impressed by the quality :) Wet n Wild highlighter in nice too, I love how fine the shimmer is :)

Can we take a second to admire that highlighter brush because boy that's genius I love the handle! You've got so many amazing products here. Really want to try some things from Wet and Wild, the highlighter looks so prettyCharlotte / Charlotte's Picks

I must admit I'm not that impressed by the handle, but that's just me :D But I appreciate Essence being innovative and fun. Wet n Wild' highlighter is very nice, I knew there had to be a reason why these Megaglos are so popular :)